These Augmented Reality Specs Can Turn a Regular Joe Into James Bond

While 007 can seemingly pull off any impossible mission without breaking a sweat, real world field intelligence agents don't have it nearly that easy. They must maintain encyclopedic mental records of names and faces as well as relay information to and from HQ—all without blowing their covers. To give its agents an edge in their deadly cloak and dagger games, the DoD hopes to outfit them with these intelligent spy glasses.

Designed by San Francisco-based Osterhout Design Group, the X6 spy spectacles significantly boost their users' analytical abilities and memory capabilities on the sly. These network-connected, augmented reality glasses run a number of third party apps designed specifically for the intelligence community. These include a map-reading app that generates a 3D topography image of any two-dimensional map the wearer views (replete with points of interest), a facial recognition app that can pull up dossiers from military biometric databases for targets and bystanders alike—in near real-time—as well as a host of others that the DoD is reportedly unwilling to disclose.

The US Defense Department has already ordered 500 beta units, according to ODG vice president of special projects, Bobby King. But while these specs, billed by ODG as a cross between Google Glass and the Oculus Rift, won't likely ever be available for the consumer market, the company did recently signed a $150 million deal with Microsoft to adapt the technology to civilian purposes—potentially as a gaming controller or law enforcement training device. [Defense One]